By LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, July 19, 2009

Two State Patrol troopers are under investigation following allegations they clubbed three juvenile seagulls to death on the roof of the Colman Dock ferry terminal, authorities said.

State Fish and Wildlife Department agents launched an investigation Friday, following a report from the State Patrol that the troopers were seen beating the young gulls with police batons the day before, said Bruce Bjork, chief of department's enforcement division. A State Patrol spokesman said the troopers have been placed on leave pending the investigation's outcome.

Bjork confirmed reports that the troopers -- both identified by the patrol as veteran officers -- are suspected of attacking the birds on the roof of the Seattle Ferry Terminal. Under state statute, it is illegal to kill seagulls or other birds not otherwise considered game species.

Fish and Wildlife investigators are reviewing evidence from the scene and interviewing witnesses, Bjork said.

"We obviously want to complete the investigation as soon as possible, but we have a number of people to interview," Bjork said. "We're just going to need a bit of time to investigate it and get it all sorted out."

The troopers, both assigned to the patrol's homeland security division, were placed on administrative leave following the incident Thursday, said Capt. Jeff DeVere, a patrol spokesman.

"It's alleged that two troopers improperly dispatched three seagulls," DeVere said. "I don't know the specific circumstances of the incident."

DeVere said the State Patrol will conduct an administrative review following the conclusion of the Fish and Wildlife Department criminal investigation. Troopers assigned to the Washington State Ferries would not have a legitimate reason to kill birds at the dock, DeVere added.

Authorities did not say whether a possible motive had been identified for the alleged attack.

Both men are patrol veterans, each with more than a decade with the department, DeVere said.

Bjork said investigators hope to determine whether the men violated state law against unlawful taking of a protected species, a misdemeanor.

Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the case could be forwarded to the King County Prosecutor's Office for possible prosecution. Bjork said he could not estimate when a the case might be handed over to prosecutors for a charging decision, should evidence be found to support such a move.